AP World History Sub-Saharan Africa from the Bantu Migration to the arrival of Islam

Presentation Outline 1) Sub-Saharan Africa prior to Islam 2) Bantu Migration 3) Animism 4)Spread of Christianity 5) Arrival of Islam in the 7 th Century 6) Golden Age of African Empires: Ghana, Mali, and Songhai 7) Swahili Coast 8) Great Zimbabwe

A Satellite View

Vegetation Zones

1) Prior to Islam Lack of political unity Secret societies handle disputes No need to tax b/c don’t have to support a bureaucracy Social—organized by lineage and age Unifying force – Religion—animism and ancestors – Language--Bantu

An African’s “Search for Identity” 1. Nuclear Family 2. Extended Family 3. Age-Set 4. Clan 5. Lineage (ancestry) TRIBE (communal living)

2)Bantu Migration Anthropologists theorize that the Bantus left their homeland in Central West Africa in search of more fertile agricultural lands in order to sustain its growing population

1000 different languages; different tribes Unifying aspect Bantu-speaking peoples provided a linguistic base across Africa

1. Belief in one remote Supreme Being. 3. Ancestor veneration. 4. Belief in magic, charms, and fetishes. 5. Diviner  mediator between the tribe and God. 2. A world of spirits (good & bad) in all things. 3) Animism

African Diviner (Shaman)

Ancestors

4) Spread of Christianity Nubia & Ethiopia Reached Africa before Rome’s conversion Coptic (Egypt & Nubia) translated the gospels into their language & were tolerated Ethiopia—Remained isolated and independent King Lalibela—11 churches carved from stone Later Dynasty—traced lineage back to Solomon & Sheba

Bet Giorgis, a 12th century Rock- Hewn church in Ethiopia

5) Arrival of Islam CE Attraction Abbasid’s provided some political stability Equality within a community of believers made it easier to accept new conquerors and rulers  egalitarian Unite state & religion and helped reinforce the authority of African kings—caliph BUT locally divided by social, ethnic and gender differences

Divisions Berbers— North Africa into Spain stopped from taking over France by Charles Martel in 711 CE Almoravids —puritanical reformers launched jihads (purify, spread or protect faith) into the South and West Almahadis —also puritanical reformist

Nubia- (Southern Sudan) Ethiopia Mali

6)Golden Age of Empires Ghana ( CE) Mali ( sCE) Songhai ( CE)

Kingdom of Ghana Trade began to flourish during the 3 rd -5 th centuries when the Berbers of North Africa introduced the camel to Ghana The camel was well-suited for the difficult passage of the Sahara desert Trans-Saharan trade brought slaves, ivory, gold, salt and agricultural goods from Ghana to north Africa and Europe in exchange for precious metals and tools

Slaves being transported across the Sahara

Trade caravan

By the 11 th century Ghana’s royal family had converted to Islam However, most common people continued to practice animism By 1235CE Ghana had been incorporated into the Kingdom of Mali

Kingdom of Mali Camel caravans couldn’t survive in the forests so the Sahel became a point of exchange Sudanic State—Mali Mansa Musa *pilgrimage to Mecca *brought back scholars *trade protection *cosmopolitan court life *tolerant *gold, salt, dates—

Mosque of Jenne a “port” city on the Niger River How is this an example of cultural diffusion?

Matrilineal & patrilineal Arab slave trade—women and children

Ibn Battuta 14 th century Moroccan explorer Journeys represented great examples of cultural diffusion, spreading knowledge of Islam throughout Africa and Asia, and bring new knowledge back

Ibn Battuta’s journeys

Mosque visited by Ibn Battuta in Guangdong, China

Mansa Musa Great king of Mali Devout Muslim Presided over golden age

Sudanic Grasslands Daily Life 80% farmers: millet, rice, sorghum, wheat Polygamy Crop rotation

Songhai Empire Began as a province of the Kingdom of Mali but grew more powerful by the late 14 th century Was the largest Islamic Empire in Sub-Saharan Africa Reached its peak by the early 1500s but declined rapidly after the death of Emperor Askia Daoud descending into civil war In 1591 it was defeated by a numerically inferior Moroccan army from the north that had employed guns in battle

Emperor Askia Daoud Royal Palace and Complex at Timbuktu

7) Swahili Coast of East Africa Indian Ocean trade Contact with China, India, SE Asia, Middle East East African slave trade Class Division Merchants tended to be Muslim Rulers tended to speak Arabic

Zanzibar became one of the great trading centres of East Africa Ivory traders in the 1800s

8) Great Zimbabwe Controlled ivory and gold trade in SE Africa and participated in Indian Ocean trade network Empire fragmented and declined in decades before 1450